|  |  | August 14, 2021 | |
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On Tuesday afternoon, the Senate voted to approve the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on a bipartisan vote of 69 in favor and 30 against. That bill is the first in a two-bill package. The second is a $3.5 trillion budget bill that Democrats intend to pass on a party-line vote, using "reconciliation," a process that allows them to bypass the filibuster on select spending bills. |
Democrats took their first step toward passing that bill on Wednesday, with a partisan vote to begin that process. |
Now, I don't want to spend too much time on the ins and outs of Senate procedure. Instead, I want to make a minor point about the size of the bill. |
Make no mistake: $3.5 trillion is a lot of money. So much so that several moderate Democrats have already announced their discomfort with the number. Here's Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona: |
I have also made clear that while I will support beginning this process, I do not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion — and in the coming months, I will work in good faith to develop this legislation with my colleagues and the administration to strengthen Arizona's economy and help Arizona's everyday families get ahead. |
Early this morning, I voted 'YES' on a procedural vote to move forward on the budget reconciliation process because I believe it is important to discuss the fiscal policy future of this country. However, I have serious concerns about the grave consequences facing West Virginians and every American family if Congress decides to spend another $3.5 trillion. Over the past year, Congress has injected more than $5 trillion of stimulus into the American economy — more than any time since World War II — to respond to the pandemic. |
Again, those are big numbers. But one thing that isn't as well appreciated as it should be is the sheer size of the American economy. And when we're talking about numbers in the trillions and the hundreds of billions, we should always remember that the denominator is the entire productive output of the entire United States. In 2020, during a pandemic and the downturn that came with it, the U.S. economy clocked in at $20.93 trillion. |
Over the next 10 years — which is the time span for most of the spending in the reconciliation bill — the U.S. economy will create between $250 trillion and $300 trillion worth of value, assuming modest, year-over-year growth. Compared with those numbers, a $3.5 trillion bill is not much at all, equivalent, in terms of an individual household, to something less than the median cost of a month of rent in the United States. |
Except, whereas rent goes to a landlord, the Democrats' $3.5 trillion "Build Back Better" bill will go toward a child allowance and universal pre-K, housing assistance, clean energy, environmental conservation and health care. Given the challenges facing the United States — and the gargantuan size of our economy — that bill could probably be a little bit bigger. |
My Tuesday column was on the filibuster and how passing an infrastructure bill is not actually evidence the Senate can work: |
The case against filibuster reform is that the 60-vote requirement to end debate ensures consensus on any given piece of legislation. The bills that pass, much less come to a vote, are those with broad support across the entire Senate. The infrastructure bill — a large package of new spending in all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico — passes the test with flying colors. But that is exactly the problem. |
My Friday column was on the common idea that vaccination is a "personal choice" when, in fact, it isn't: |
If American society has been reshaped in the image of capital, then Americans themselves have been pushed to relate to one another and our institutions as market creatures in search of utility, as opposed to citizens bound together by rights and obligations. If "there are certain habits, certain attributes of character without cultivation of which there can be no individual progress, and therefore no social progress," as Henry E. Sharpe, a theorist for the Knights of Labor, wrote in 1883, then you could say Americans today are a little out of practice. |
Sam Thielman on the poor treatment creators receive at the hands of Marvel and D.C. Comics, in the Guardian. |
Tina Vasquez on industrial chicken processing in Scalawag magazine. |
As for books, I'm reading an old classic, a recent release and a coming release. The old classic is "The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788-1800" by Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick, a detailed analysis of the first years of the United States, the personalities involved, the conflicts among them and the ideologies at stake. The recent release is "Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump" by Spencer Ackerman, a bracing chronicle of the war on terror and its corrosive effect on American democracy. And the coming release is "Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution" by Mike Duncan, an immensely compelling biography of Lafayette and a disquisition on the limits of bourgeois liberalism. |
I'll have more thoughts on all three books once I finish them. |
Reminder: This newsletter will soon be reserved for Times subscribers. |
 | | Jamelle Bouie |
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I don't often share pictures of myself, but I like this one. I'll call it a "self-portrait" although it isn't really, since you can't clearly see my face. I took it at a local car show. The car itself was beautiful. |
A wonderful Cajun side dish, maque choux is bright, sweet and a great way to use summer corn. Serve with whatever you'd like or eat on its own. The recipe calls for a lot of butter, but feel free to reduce as much as you see fit. Recipe from NYT Cooking. |
- 3 fresh ears of corn, shucked
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ red onion, cut into small dice
- 2 celery ribs, cut into small dice
- kosher salt
- 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into small dice
- 1 small poblano pepper, cored, seeded and cut into small dice
- 1 small serrano chile, very thinly sliced
- freshly ground black pepper
- smoked paprika
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Working with 1 corn cob at a time, set the ear of corn upright in a medium bowl. Shave the corn from the cob by slicing down the sides using the tip of a sharp chef's knife, holding the knife almost vertically. (This gives you neat tablets of corn that land squarely in the bowl and keeps the kernels from scattering all over the counter.) Using the back of the knife, scrape each cob to release all the nibs and the "milk" of the kernels into the bowl. Repeat with remaining ears of corn, then snap the cobs in half, and add them to the bowl. |
In a large, deep sauté pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat until foaming. Add onion and celery, and season with 1 or 2 pinches of kosher salt. Stir constantly until softened and translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes. |
Add 2 tablespoons butter and the bell pepper, poblano and serrano, and stir constantly, adding another pinch of kosher salt, letting the butter melt and the peppers soften and become translucent, about 2 or 3 minutes. You will smell the peppers' sweetness and their mild capsaicin releasing. |
Add the final 3 tablespoons butter and the corn mixture from the bowl, cobs included, and another pinch of kosher salt. Stir constantly to coat with the butter and combine thoroughly. |
When everything starts to hiss and sound hot, but isn't cooking so hard as to take color, add ½ cup water and a healthy few grinds of black pepper, and cover the pan for a couple of minutes to steam/shallow braise the mixture. |
Remove the lid, and stir well, noticing the corn releasing its liquid and the kernels softening, and the cobs turning somewhat translucent, if however vague. You will notice a general softening and melding together. Return the lid, and let cook a few more minutes, noticing the water evaporating and the remaining liquid reducing and gaining some "body" and gloss. Discard the corn cobs. |
Taste for salt, and serve. It should be sweet, spicy, a bit wet and surprisingly complex, given the few ingredients and their ordinariness. If you want a smoky taste, add a good pinch of smoked paprika. |
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